Following recent decisions by the NCAA and the ACC, the Southern Conference will discuss whether to keep its tournaments in North Carolina sooner than expected.

Advertisement

The NCAA and the ACC relocated its events because of North Carolina's HB2, which is known as the bathroom law. Some said the law can lead to discrimination against LGBT people.

"Several people have expressed regret that we're in this situation through no fault of our own and what a great partner Asheville has been for the Southern Conference basketball tournament. It's unfortunate that this even has to come to a vote," said SoCon commissioner John Iamarino.

The Southern Conference planned to discuss the issue at regularly scheduled meetings in October and November, but decided to speed up the process because of announcements from the NCAA and the ACC.

The Conference, which includes Wofford College, Furman University and Western Carolina University, will discuss the matter during a conference call with athletic directors, presidents and chancellors in the middle of next week.

Following the call, the presidents and chancellors will make a vote.

The SoCon basketball tournament happens in Asheville, which gets a lot of visitors because of the event. The conference also has soccer and golf tournaments scheduled in North Carolina.

"They're doing everything they possibly can to show that if we do keep the tournament there things will be accommodating and inclusionary for spectators and athletes and they're trying their hardest to keep us there," Iamarino said.